


Kiss the Sky

by StarfruitSpice



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alpha Jack, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Background Angel/Gaige, Canon-Typical Violence, Forced Bonding, M/M, Omega Rhys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:22:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21674404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarfruitSpice/pseuds/StarfruitSpice
Summary: Rhys is captured and forced to be bonded with an alpha he can't see.
Relationships: Handsome Jack/Rhys (Borderlands)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 207





	1. Bonded

It had been a long time since Rhys had felt like this. His ears ringing, his body uncooperatively wobbly. He looked up to see dark figures walking towards him, and he stumbled backwards into hot sand. 

There was debris all around him, smoke billowing off of mangled metal panels and a few crisp corpses half buried. The shadowed figures loomed over Rhys, and he cowered back as he caught the scent of acrid sweat and dirt- bandits. Rhys hissed. He hated having a hyper sensitive nose, but normally it was only the chemical filled colognes and perfumes of his coworkers. One bandit leaned down, reaching a hand out for Rhys’s robotic arm, sending Rhys into a panic. He kicked weakly, growled as harsh as he could in his still groggy state. 

But he was grabbed from behind, by a burly brute, and was hoisted to his shaking feet. 

The man in front of him barked an order to the others, before grabbing Rhys by his singed tie. He growled low, before speaking. “Whatchu’re type there, pretty boy?” 

Rhys winced back as the man's sour breath hit his face. Rhys whimpered softly, trying to wriggle free from the brutes grip, as the man in front of him reached up to grab Rhys’s chin. 

"You seem soft, you ain't an omega, are ya?" The man moved closer to Rhys’s face, taking deep inhales of Rhys’s scent. “Cause- heh- if you're an omega, boy, we gots some plans for you.” 

The man trailed his nose along the skin of Rhys’s neck, taking in his scent with a dramatic sniff. Rhys shuddered, struggling to pull away as he felt a wet tongue lick his bonding site, sending an uncontrollable shiver through his spine. “Definitely an omega bitch. You'll come in handy. Take him back to the hideout, lock him in the cell next to our other prize.” 

Rhys glared up at the man, biting his cheek hard and spitting the blood at him. He stumbled back, and the brute gripped Rhys’s jaw tight, yanking his head to look uncomfortably at the sky. “You little-!” The brute dropped Rhys hard on the ground, and when he looked up the man’s foot was kicked towards his face.

“Rhys! You don’t want to be late!" Yvette’s voice was calling from the living room. Rhys jumped out of the shower, only half way through rinsing off the soap, running out with the towel barely wrapped around his waist. 

He rushed to dress himself, only barely drying off before putting anything on. He thanked the stars he had the thought to put his clothes out before showering. Clothes on he checked his still wet hair in the mirror, deciding his natural curls would have to do for this one trip, and ran out to the living room where Vaughn and Yvette sat on the couch, playing a game of cards. 

Rhys’s shoulders slumped. “I thought I was running late.”

Yvette grinned as she set down another card in front of her. “I just said you don’t want to be late. Not that you were.”

“I hate you.” Rhys said with a pout. He sighed, and started to head back to his room. 

This time, it was Vaughn’s voice that called out. “Your shuttle does leave in like 20 minutes, bro!”

Rhys glared at his silently giggling friends as he ran past them, grabbing his prepacked bag off of the kitchen table, shooting them some not so friendly finger guns before running down the halls of Helios to the loading bay.

It had been a few years since he had been there, and not a lot had changed. The ships seemed just as impressive as they had when he stepped off his first Hyperion transfer. Rhys grinned as he spotted the ship that he would be riding to Pandora. It was sleek, very new, and he was told highly bandit proof. Its outer shell was shimmering purple, clearly an eridium infused alloy. It was the most high class ship Rhys had ever seen. 

“She’s a beaut, ain’t she?” Rhys jumped at the voice, turning to see a young man with thick glasses. “Only the best for a ship the boss is gonna be on.” 

Rhys raised an eyebrow. “The boss? Isn’t this just a checkup ship for the Western Sphere Eridium Mine?”

The man nodded solemnly. “They’ve been having security issues, and the ol’ Heich Jay wants to check in and shoot a few heads.” 

Rhys nervously pulled up his ship clearance and assignment for the week. It was the lovely ship in front of him. And his assignment was only listed as "Temporary security management”. He had figured it was a test of some sort, to make sure he was ready to play with the big boys. Not a permanent reassignment. Unless Henderson didn't think he could do it. Rhys glared at the little words in the email. 

His sudden determined resolve was interrupted by the man in glasses snapping in front of his face. “Hey, you alright there? I asked what ship you’re getting on, gotta check you in.”

"Oh, right. That one actually. Port 48C.” Rhys grinned nervously as the man made a considering noise as he tapped away on the bulky echo device. 

The man waved Rhys on with an apologetic pat on the shoulder, and Rhys walked up the ramp to the ship. There were a few people already on the ship, mostly extra soldiers Rhys figured were there for disciplinary purposes. Rhys took his seat next to two particularly sour looking men, and buckled himself in carefully. He really hoped takeoff wouldn't make him sick again. He really hated the feeling of bile- 

-bile forcing its way out of his gut and onto the concrete floor he was collapsed on. Rhys couldn’t see, some sort of leather blindfold strapped tight over his face. Another bout of sickness overtook him as he tried to breathe in. The air around him had smelled of rancid meat, sweet, rotting and thickly swirling around him. Now it smelled like stomach acid  _ and  _ rancid meat. 

Rhys tried to crawl away from the smells, weakly holding his breath and trying to find some draft or breeze to give him some ounce of relief. He patted the walls, trying to find his way around the cell. He found what seemed to be an open window, where he chanced a quick breath, only to find it was the source of the smell, overpowering. Rhys fell back, fighting his stomach, and hit his head against the wall behind him. There was a small breeze, a small reprieve, that smelled like spiced cologne that had been sprayed a while ago. And the soft hints of alpha pheromones. He tried to speak and call out to the alpha that should be there, but his throat was sore and dry. He let out a soft whimper to try and get the alpha's attention, but he heard no response. Rhys stayed by the soft breeze, letting it soothe him. 

Rhys reached up to grab the blindfold, only to find the straps welded together, and to a collar that was wrapped loosely around his throat. He yanked on it, hoping to break it, but it held together better than Rhys thought. When it didn’t work he tried to turn on his echo eye to scan whatever he could, and maybe send off a distress signal. A sharp pain hit him in the eye, and he felt a small shock. Whimpering louder, he shook his head, feeling a few tears wetting the leather against his eyes. He crawled onto the ground, in the cleanest spot near the small breeze that held the smell of the alpha in as he could. There was nothing to be done but save energy. Even if Rhys was convinced he'd never get to sleep.

There was a banging on steel bars that woke him up, the smell of the alpha long gone. Rhys whimpered before turning his head towards the sound. He could smell bandit, but not how many there were

“Get up. Boss gots plans.” The cage door opened, and Rhys heard a grunt as the bandit smell got closer, and someone large picked Rhys up roughly by the arm, and dragged him effortlessly out of the cell. 

Rhys was afraid. Terrified. If the large bandit behind him wasn't so strong, Rhys’s heels could have dug into the ground and stopped him. Unfortunately, the bandit was, and only lifted Rhys up so he had no purchase against him.

Has he was pulled along, he started to hear the sound of a crowd jeering something. It erupted into loudness when he heard another set of harshly opened doors, and he was taken into what sounded like some horrible stadium, the loud screaming reaching a fever pitch as it echoed off the walls Rhys couldn’t see. Rhys winced away from the sound, even as it swirled around him, sending his body into an anxiety attack.

Through the din, Rhys could hear a man yelling at people around him, laughter from a high voice taunting the man into an even higher state of aggression. The high voice was cut off, suddenly as they were told to shut up. Rhys was shoved against a warm body, that smelled just like the cologne that he had smelled in his cell. He whined instinctually, causing the body in front of him to go rigid. He felt chains wrap around him and the alpha. 

Rhys’s heart pounded in his chest, tears streamed from his face, and his stomach started churning again. The alpha struggled against their binds, his teeth clacking together as he snapped at anyone who got close, and Rhys could feel hot saliva drip on his shoulder. 

The scent of course was inescapable, and Rhys whined again trying to calm the alpha, who thankfully stopped snarling. Rhys felt the alpha scenting him, trying to soothe and reassure himself with Rhys’s scent, and the world melted away for a moment. Rhys leaning into the soft breathing that lulled his instincts into a calmer state. Then there was a screaming roar as something caused the alpha to struggle again, one quick movement and pain seared the side of Rhys’s neck. He could feel the alpha growling, and thrashing trying to get away, tearing the freshly punctured flesh.

He was bonded. Forced by bandits. To an alpha he didn’t know. Rhys tried to calm his frantic breaths, his heart pounding, sending waves of mixed emotions through his core. He wanted to cry, he wanted the alpha to soothe him. He wanted to murder every fucking bandit in the building. Something pushed the teeth harder into his shoulder, and Rhys bit back a scream.

"Okay!” Rhys yelled. "Okay. We're fucking bonded! You can let go now!” Rhys took a few deep breaths, and found himself shocked when the alpha was released, and pulled his head back slowly, blood dripping down Rhys’s shoulder. Rhys touched the alpha’s side, finding him shaking. "You.. you ok?”

"I… I should be asking you that." The alpha’s voice sounded dry. “I.. I’ve been better.”

Rhys smiled, before he was suddenly pulled back, the chains dropping from them. There was a harsh thud, and Rhys felt the alpha slump against him as they were both grabbed and picked up by the same large bandit. 

He was taken to another cell, and tossed in carelessly with the alpha. Rhys tried to get out from underneath the unconscious heavy body, but found himself too weak to push it off. Rhys shivered, a mild delayed rush of fear went through his body. He buried his face into the alpha’s neck, willing the scent to calm him down. After a few shuddering sobs, Rhys started to drift off. 

Rhys started to wake up, as the heavy body lifted itself off of him. He groaned softly as he stretched. A rough hand gently cupped his cheek, and Rhys jerked away, hitting his head hard on the floor. Another hand gently pet the spot, trying to soothe it. “Sorry, kiddo. Didn’t mean to scare you.” The alpha’s voice was soft, like he was afraid anything louder would somehow hurt Rhys. “How’d you got caught up in all this?”

Rhys growled softly. “I survived the crash. I’m an omega. Something like that." He rolled his bitten shoulder as gently as he could, testing the movement he could allow himself. The alpha grabbed at Rhys’s back, and pulled him closer, and started to gently lick the wound. Each lick send a shiver up Rhys’s spine. He tried to pull away, but the alpha hummed softly before holding him tighter. 

"H-hey! What are you-”

“Cleaning the wound. I don't want it getting infected from this hellhole." His grip on Rhys slackened, letting Rhys pull away from his next lick. The alpha huffed. “I’m just trying to help.”

Rhys wiggled, trying to get out of his grip entirely. “I’d rather get out, than stay here long enough to get infected.”

“There’s weak spots in the brick. If I hit it hard enough we might be able to break out. It’ll make a lot of noise, but we might be able to escape.” There was a moment's pause before the alpha spoke again. “Though we’d just end up stuck in the desert.”

Rhys sighed. “My arm has an emergency signal I can set off. I have an echo eye too, but it's on the fritz.”

The alpha grabbed his robotic wrist, pulling it up. “That could work. We’ll check the eye when I get some shears to cut this stupid mask off you.”

Rhys nodded, feeling the alpha stand up, walk away. Knowing what the man was probably planning, Rhys tried to get his attention. “You should probably kick it, you’ll be less likely to hurt yourself.” 

The alpha scoffed scoffed. “Babe, don’t worry. I’m not gonna get hurt from punching a  _ wall _ .” Rhys pushed back into the corner, attempting to avoid any possible debris when the wall was broken, just before hearing an awful sort of crack, followed by loud cursing from the alpha. He felt the alpha sit down heavily next to him, and the smell of blood hit his nose. 

“I told you to kick it.” 

“I could still kick it.” 

“We’ll try tomorrow. Let yourself rest a bit before you try and break anything else, ok?” Rhys pulled the alpha close, instinctually scenting him. He was scented back, and the alpha pulled Rhys on top of him as he dropped back onto the floor. He shivered. “What’re you doing?”

“Resting.” 

“On the floor?”

“Do you see a bed?” 

Rhys blushed. “Well, I can't see anything but… I don't have to be on top of you.”

"Hm…” When the alpha was quiet, Rhys figured he lost the argument, and got as comfortable as he could, resting his head against the warm chest and let his day melt away into sleep.

A loud alarm caused the alpha to jolt awake, forcing Rhys to roll off of him onto the cement floor. Rhys squeaked from the sudden chill, almost jumping up from the sensation. “What’s going on?”

“Heck if I know. What bandit base has alarms?” Rhys heard the alpha stand and walk away again, before he yelled out into the hall. “Hey! Hey! What’s goin’ on?!”

His only response was the alarm blaring back at him. Rhys shakily stood up behind him, leaning against a nearby wall as starting to feel what he dreaded was the effects of the new bond. He could feel energy thrumming through his veins, the alpha’s anxiety and anger pounding at his head, just like it had when they first bonded. 

“Hey. You need to calm down.” Rhys tried to walk towards the sound of the alpha’s voice, but his legs buckled underneath him, and he fell forward forward into the alpha’s arms as the man turned around just in time to catch Rhys. “Oh, I don't feel so good.”

“Shit." A warm hand caressed the side of Rhys’s face, as the alpha pulled him more upright. “Hopefully, the alarm is my friends. They have to have noticed I've been missing by now. They’ll get us back to Helios in no time.” The alpha stood straighter, before picking Rhys up bridal style. “Then we can get you to a doctor’s office.”

Rhys squeaked throwing his arms around the alpha helplessly. His heart fluttered. “P-put me down, oh my god!”

"No can do, cupcake. Gotta get you outta the danger zone.” Rhys felt the alpha take him to a corner, and curl around him protectively. There were a few quiet moments where Rhys felt the man’s anger ebbing away, but leaving an electrical energy buzzing inside him behind. Then there was yelling, fearful and elated, and a distant explosion.

Three more explosions went off in close succession, each time getting closer and closer until Rhys felt the shock wave of the blast on his legs. A woman laughed, clearly close by and Rhys tried not to be afraid. 

The alpha said these were his friends right? Rhys shifted his face around the alpha’s shoulder, hoping to sneak some scent from the new intruders. 

The alpha spoke first. “About damn time! You saved me a few bandits right? Gimme my guns, I wanna kill that sonofabitch.” Rhys was being picked up again, and he buried his face in the comforting scent of the alpha. His alpha, he supposed.

“I got your guns right here.” Replied a gravely low voice. Rhys pulled away from Jack to smell the air again, picking up the scent of a beta and another alpha. "C’mon, Tim’s holding things down at the main hall. Can't leave him hanging.”

"Yeah, Tim doesn't even like fighting and he's getting all the action." The woman from earlier finally spoke. Rhys felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he pulled away.

Rhys tried to curl himself up against the alpha holding him, as they made their escape, the loud shots of guns ringing in his ears as bandits tried to surprise them with an attack. 

He finally heard the metallic thud of the large doors he had been brought through the first time, just hours ago. There were sounds of screaming and gunfire that was louder here, and someone called out to them from deeper in. Rhys was set on something, large and metal, and the alpha did a quick pat down. Rhys guessed he was being checked for wounds. 

"Stay here, I'll be back in a sec." The alphas hands left him, and Rhys could only assume he had started to walk towards the battle.

"W-wait! I can't defend myself! I can't see!” Rhys panicked, frantically climbing further onto the surface he'd been set on, and scrambled back against a wall there, making himself smaller and trying to get away from the noises of bandits being slaughtered.

The sounds didn't take long to lessen as the bandits arriving on scene seemed to dwindle in numbers. Then there was an awful crack, and he heard a guttural voice. “How dare you kill my psychos! I'll kill you!”

There was silence, a gunshot, and a loud thud. Silence fell on the room, and for a moment all Rhys could hear was his own broken breathing. Someone was walking towards him, heaving out an annoyed huff. “Well, that was anticlimactic. Little disappointing. Bastard didn't even give me a satisfying fight. Dick.” Rhys couldn't help but smile when he heard his alpha’s voice.

Rhys shook his head. "This means we can go home now, right? I just want to get back to Helios and shower or something.” Rhys sighed softly. He wanted to stop by medical too, but he felt like he’d been dipped in skag droppings. 

He felt the alpha’s hand stroke his ankle, and Rhys scooted to the edge of the platform, practically jumping into his alpha’s arms. "Yeah, it's time to go home." He buried his face in Rhys’s neck, once more licking gently at the wound. “Gotta get you patched up, babe.” 

Rhys let the alpha carry him, too tired to even consider any nearby threats. The warmth of the air around him and the lull of silence letting him drift into a hazy state of mind. Soon, he heard the soft whirring of machinery and was blasted with clean, cold air as he realized he was being taken onto a ship. Hyperion, from the smell. Finally surrounded by safe familiar scents, he sighed. His head dropped to the alpha’s shoulder, exhaustion hitting Rhys hard as the safety wrapped his mind, letting the bond take its toll on his body. 


	2. Alpha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol i was gonna hold off on this buuuuuuut 
> 
> it was already done anyway

Soft silky sheets wrapped around Rhys’s legs, as he stretched them out across the large bed. It was warm, and smelled like hot earth and iron. Rhys shifted, burying his face into the softest pillows he’d ever laid his head on. He must still be dreaming. His bed was nowhere near this nice, Iike a high end hotel he’d never stayed in. 

He pushed himself up, sleepy fog keeping him just slightly dazed. He yawned, and had to rub the tears from his eyes. When he opened them, he became keenly aware he was not in his own home. The bed was large, and took up most of the room, the rest being taken up by book shelves and small stacks of paper sitting on a messy desk. There were two large wooden doors- something that was rare for Helios. 

Rhys cautiously crawled across the bed, listening for any noises to indicate he was not alone, but the room stayed quiet. He checked the door that was more to his left, finding a huge luxurious bathroom, that Rhys couldn't help from indulging himself a little. 

He relieved his bladder, and delighted in washing his hands with the obnoxiously fancy soap- shavings from a large soap statue of a unicorn. He glanced up at his reflection and gasped. There were large purple bruises on his cheekbone, and a small gash across his nose, that of course started to ache now that he remembered they were there. His echoeye was dark, and he realized with a jolt that there was a small crack in the lens. He groaned softly as he vaguely recalled getting kicked in the face.

His eye trailed down to his neck, covered in bruises and a scabbed over bite mark. Oh right, he was kidnapped by bandits and bonded to an unknown alpha. Rhys looked around the bathroom. Clearly, the alpha who had been forced to bond him was rich. That could work in his favor. Or against him, really. 

He was also not wearing his own clothes, instead dressed in an old grey Hyperion t-shirt and loose black shorts. Rhys pulled the waistband of the shorts out and was met with an unfamiliar pair of boxer briefs. Great, the alpha got him naked. And from the lack of dirt and grungy feelings, bathed as well. 

Rhys tried not to panic, sneaking back out to the bedroom and checked the other door. It lead out into a hall, and the smell of the alpha he'd been bonded to was even more faint. Rhys picked up the smell of another alpha, fresher this time, and fear prickled at the back of his neck. If he was quick he could escape without being noticed. He inched out into the hall, making sure the door closed behind him quietly. As he snuck out into the open room at the end of the hall, he noticed a young woman sitting at the kitchen bar- and the front door in her direct line of sight. 

He whimpered softly as he looked for other exits, a vent, a window anything. There was nothing. He would either have to face the girl, hope he could get out fast enough, or wait for an opportunity and risk the alpha coming home. Rhys would chance the girl. He straightened himself up, and stepped out into the living room shyly. The girl didn't budge. "Hello?”

She jumped a little before turning. She stared at Rhys for a moment before her look soured. “Oh, Dad didn't tell me he brought someone home with him.”

Rhys blinked. The alpha he was bonded to had a kid? Great. Even better. The alpha definitely wasn't going to keep the bond. Rhys tried to smile, but he knew it looked forced. Especially when the woman frowned deeper, almost into a scowl. 

"So, how long have you been fucking my dad?” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Cause you're wasting your time if you're doing it for money.”

Letting his smile drop, Rhys deflated a bit. “I, uhh, I’m not... Having sex with your dad. We got kidnapped by bandits.” Rhys gestured towards his neck, and the woman's eyes widened. "They forced us to bond.”

She seemed to think a moment, staring at his neck before sighing softly. “Sorry. Dad's just had a lot of gold digger one night stands lately.” She stood, carefully looking him over. “And sorry you got bonded to my dad. That’s not gonna be fun for you.”

Rhys nodded, taking a few steps closer to her. When he got close enough he realized she was the alpha he had smelled earlier. "Do you know when your dad might be home? I'm still trying to decide if it's ok to go back to my home for a bit.”

"It's probably fine, he usually isn't here until really late anyway.” She pulled out an echo device that Rhys didn't recognize the brand of and looked at him expectantly. “Is it alright if I get your number though? Just in case Dad needs it?” 

"Yeah uhh-” Rhys stammered out his number quickly. "And my name is Rhys, but I don't think your dad is gonna know that.”

"Why not? Did he not ask you? Ugh, that's so like him.” She sighed. “I'm Angel, by the way. His incredibly tired daughter, who never really gets a break for babysitting him.” 

Rhys smiled at her, nodding. "So it's alright if I head out? My roommates are probably super worried and- no offence to your dad's style- I'd like to get back into my own clothes.”

Angel smiled back. "Of course. I'm not going to keep you prisoner here or anything. C'mon, I'll walk you to the hub.” She got up out of her chair, and walked to a wall to the right of the kitchen. 

Rhys gestured to what he had assumed was the front door. "Isn't that the door?”

Angel turned at looked at it. "Oh- yeah, it is. I'd rather take the back way through my lab if you don't mind. It's easier for me to navigate you.”

That made sense, Rhys supposed. He followed Angel over to the empty wall, mildly confused until she flipped the head of a small statue to reveal a button. 

“Ever pretend you're a supervillain?” He said with a grin.

She smiled back mischievously. “Who says I'm not.” The wall slid open to reveal a rather innocuous elevator, and Rhys stepped in, suddenly a little nervous.

The ride was quick and silent, but the moment the doors opened there was screaming, and a red haired woman launched herself at Angel, trapping her in a hug. 

“Angel! Sweetheart! Love of my life! Huge success! I've finished the thing for the thing’s thing!” 

Angel smiled warmly, gently pushing the excitable woman out of the elevator. Rhys followed cautiously. “That's great Gaige, but I have a guest.” She motioned towards Rhys. “I'm taking him back to his apartment so you'll have to show me the enhancements for Deathtrap later.”

Rhys smiled at Gaige as she turned towards him with a calculating gaze. She looked him up and down before cautiously extending her hand. "Daddy-o’s new squeeze I presume? If Angel's bringing you this way I'm guessing he's found a decent one.” 

Rhys wrinkled his nose. “I'm no one's squeeze. Just a poor lost omega. Who would like to get home.” Angel nodded silently behind Gaige.

“I'll be back, hon” Angel pulled Rhys away from Gaige, and lead him out of the lab. There were many projects Rhys knew were far out if his clearance, and he found himself curious just who Angel was. He knew of most of the higher security scientists, but Angel was a mystery.

He followed her out to a nondescript hallway he knew was somewhere in R&D just from the smell. She laughed when he wrinkled his nose at the mix of unwashed endotypes struck him. 

"Sensitive nose? I only get a whiff every so often, but Gaige can't handle it out here.” 

“Yeah. It's kind of just a bit awful." He covered his nose with the borrowed shirt, inhaling the mystery alpha's scent instead of hundreds of unknown scientists. “You'd be surprised how bad most people smell after a few days of not washing.”

Angel nodded and pointed down the hall. "We won't be here long. There's an elevator over there.” 

Angel had led him out to the hub, where they said their goodbyes and parted ways, leaving him alone in his thoughts. Rhys was a problem solver, and he could solve his newfound bonding problem. Somehow. He was sure of it. It Just took time, and not even a lot of time. 

Instead of going home immediately, he found his stomach rumbling, having not eaten since before he emptied his stomach on Pandora. He found himself too uneasy to eat anything heavy or greasy like a good comfort burger, or a pizza. Salads didn't sound remotely appealing, and Rhys ended up at a small Thai food place. He scarfed his food down as quickly as he could, downing water at an alarming rate, as the dry of Pandora started to catch up to him. 

He sighed, the stress and soreness started to creep in. He paid his bill and quickly walked to his apartment, and into his bedroom. He stripped out of most of the clothes, leaving himself in the alpha's undershirt and boxers, and flopped onto his bed. Burying his face into a pillow, he let himself cry out all the wild emotions storming inside him.

He was bonded. To an alpha he didn’t know. Fear shuddered through him. There were so many things that could go wrong. The man was rich, Rhys was relatively unknown. The man had a daughter, who was almost Rhys’s age. His heat was in 3 months, plenty of time to break a bond. But if they didn’t break it by then, there would be no easy breaking it after without the death of one or the other. 

The only other option was bond site removal. Rhys really didn’t want that. He wanted to be able to bond with an alpha he loved. He was sure the Alpha wouldn’t either, since they would have to remove the bonding glands in his cheekbones, and often alphas were too vain for the procedure. Rhys shook his head. No, that wasn’t really an option. 

They would simply have to go on with their lives and hope that the bond broke while they were at it. Rhys had no idea who the man was, but the scent wasn’t familiar. Rhys could handle that. He growled in frustration when he started to cry more at the thought. He wanted his first and _only_ bonding to be romantic. After a year of discussion, and mutually wanted. Not forced at the hand of a bandit after he’d been kidnapped. 

Even then, what Rhys wanted didn’t matter anymore. If the alpha didn't want the bond, he might just kill Rhys to get it over with. While the bond was fresh there was no way he’d have been able to do it himself, but there were plenty of people who hired assassins for a quick out for an accidental bond. Rhys wasn’t even a high enough target for an assassin like Zer0. 

Rhys caught himself starting to breathe too quickly, his body tensing up. He closed his eyes, and breathed deep, trying to think about everything but the lingering pain in his neck. The unknown swirl of emotions started to make him feel sick, and he rolled to his side, cradling his stomach. He didn’t want to be alone. But he didn't want Vaughn, or Yvette like he normally would. 

Another wave of nausea hit him as he let out a shallow breath. He wanted his alpha. Rhys sat up on shaking arms, and slowly made his way to the kitchen. This was a good sign, the miserable feeling. It meant the bond was unsteady, straining. It would be unpleasant, but much more survivable. He poured himself some more water, hands shaking almost too much for him to keep a firm hold on the glass. 

Rhys migrated to the couch, where he laid, trying to sleep while riding out the hormonal turmoil that left him frantically trying to catch his breath. All he was able to do was sit in the unlit room until his friends got home from their respective jobs. His vision swirled as he stared at the ceiling. He quietly muttered to himself about how it would be worth the suffering. Just a few days, and he'd feel better, and be unbonded.

A click pulled him out of his nauseous dreamlike state, and he lifted his head slightly to watch Yvette come through the door. She spotted him almost immediately, smiling softly, as she shut the door softly, making her way through the dark over to where Rhys was lying. She clearly was tamping down her excitement to see him alive and safe. 

“Hey, Rhys. Your trip sucked I hear." She knelt down next to him and gently put a hand over his forehead. “You getting sick?”

Rhys hummed. “I got bonded. Jus’ waiting for it to break.”

She looked shocked, but nodded faintly. “Do you need anything?”

“Do you still have that nausea powder? I wasn’t feeling up for looking.” Rhys looked up at her with big pleading eyes, hoping to will his omega charms on the alpha side of his friend. 

Yvette snorted. “Lazy. I’ll get you some, then you should probably go back to bed.” She shook her head, smiling. “The amount you and Vaughn jump on that thing, I'm surprised you're not being stabbed by a spring.”

He laughed, burying his face into his arms. He was being stabbed by a spring, but it was helping him ground himself. He sighed again, wishing the bond breaking process didn’t feel so awful. He wanted his alpha. He let out a soft whine as Yvette came back and gently set the small jar next to him on the coffee table. 

“Do you need me to leave? My scent isn’t upsetting you at all, is it?” She seemed worried, but it soothed Rhys’s nerves.

“No, I think you’re close enough to family that I'm not getting set off.” Rhys slowly sat up, a little startled by the glass of water Yvette was handing him. “Thanks.” He said with a soft smile.

He put some of the power into the water, and stirred it with the straw before sipping at it. The cool water helped him feel less bad, and he knew the powder would do its job soon.He finished it off and set it down, before trying to lay back on the couch. Yvette caught his head. 

“I’m serious, Rhys, go back to your room.” She said sternly. Rhys stuck his tongue out at her. She returned the gesture. Begrudgingly, Rhys got up and sauntered off to his room, collapsing back on his bed to take a nap. 

It didn’t take much for him to sleep, but his dreams were restless, searching for his alpha. The bond was breaking, and he couldn’t bring himself to cut the ties. Drowning in the scent that kept him afloat, swirling feelings carrying him downstream to a place he didn’t know. 

He got woken up by yelling. A scream, to be more specific. And angry yelling that was vaguely familiar.  _ My alpha _ , Rhys thought, in a tired daze. He slipped out of bed, walking out to the living room, still wiping the sleep from his eyes. Yvette and Vaughn were cowering, and Rhys looked at them with confusion. They had noticed him enter the room, both of them shaking their heads, no doubt trying to make him go back to his room. 

“There you are! I was so worried when you weren't in my bed when I came home.” Rhys’s alpha had turned, staring into his eyes with mismatched blue and green eyes, the skin of his mask glinting in the artificial light, and a grin that made Rhys's knees weak.

_ Handsome Jack.  _


End file.
